Post by pakman on Nov 2, 2018 10:58:49 GMT -5

Unsure if this is the right forum for this, but I couldn't think of any other good place.

I'm reading a book right now called Pizza Bomber, which details the investigation into the Erie Collar Bomber case that AMW featured about six times between 2003 and 2007. The book was written by Jerry Clark, who was the lead FBI agent on the case (and interviewed very frequently on AMW) and Ed Palattella, a longtime newspaper reporter who covered the Collar Bomber case from day one.

For those who don't remember, the case started in August 2003 when Brian Wells, a pizza delivery driver, robbed a bank with a bomb strapped to his neck. The bomb exploded, killing him. Eventually it was discovered that the whole plot was an elaborate scheme to get money for one of the masterminds to hire a hitman to kill her father.

I'm a little more than halfway through the book so far and I love it! It's such a fascinating book, giving insight into this crazy case. Turns out that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who was eventually convicted in the case, had actually killed her boyfriend back in the 80s, but was acquitted because jurors believed she'd been a domestic abuse victim. She was also a hoarder, and was on a ton of medications (she suffered from a bunch of mental health issues).

Also, the book reveals AMW played a tiny role in helping solve the case. The show's September 2005 profile led to a witness coming forward saying he'd seen Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong in an area that ended up being one of the locations Brian Wells was supposed to visit.

There's so much about this case that AMW never revealed (probably due to time constraints with the show) but I highly recommend the book, even though I'm not even done with it yet!

Post by Scumhunter on Nov 2, 2018 17:51:38 GMT -5

Does the book address the controversy over whether Brian Wells was a willing participant or not? I think that's always been the biggest unanswered question from all this.

Basically, the Erie County DA/authorities say what happened is Wells WAS a willing participant- but he didn't realize the extent of what they were going to make him to do, that the bomb was going to be real etc...

His family still disputes that and say he was kidnapped after the ill-fated pizza delivery call.

Post by pakman on Nov 2, 2018 18:38:07 GMT -5

Haven't gotten to the specific discussion of that yet, but the investigation so far seems to indicate that Wells was a willing participant. Diehl-Armstrong, evidence shows, claims he was kind of a dupe. And the investigator thinks Wells willingly participated, but didn't realize that a) it was a real bomb or that b) he was actually in any danger.